Elizabeth Hands
Elizabeth Hands (1746-1815) was an English poet. Life Hands was born Elizabeth Herbert in Warwickshire, of humble background, the daughter of Ann and Henry Herbert. She worked as a domestic servant to the Huddesford family of Allesley, near Coventry. In 1784 she married William Hands, a blacksmith from Bourton, bearing him two children (in 1785 and 1787).Elizabeth Hands (1746-1815), English Poetry,1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, July 5, 2016. Poems written by Hands using the pseudonym "Daphne" were published in Jopson's Coventry Mercury.Feldman, Paula R. (1997). British Women Poets of the Romantic Era: An anthology. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press, 256. ISBN 0-8018-5430-X. Print. Among those impressed by her work was Thomas James, the headmaster of Rugby School, and in 1789 the school's press published by subscription a book of her poems, The Death of Amnon. The book had 1,000 subscribers, including Anna Seward, Thomas Warton, and Edmund Burke. Hands considered the publication of this volume to be near-miraculous, and wrote an introduction in which she acknowledged the support of her friends in making it possible. It is not known whether Hands continued writing after the publication of Amnon.Feldman, Paula R. (1997). British Women Poets of the Romantic rea: An anthology. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 258. ISBN 0-8018-5430-X. Print. She is buried in Bourton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire."Foremother Poet: Elizabeth Hands (fl 1789)" at Ellen and Jim Have a Blog, Two. Wordpress, Web, July 5, 2016. Writing Her poems treat domestic and literary themes. Some of her verse is satirical in tone; "A Poem, on the Supposition of an Advertisement Appearing in a Morning Paper, of the Publication of a Volume of Poems, by a Servant-Maid" depicts those who dismissed her literary efforts on account of her social status: :'A servant write verses!' says Madame du Bloom :'Pray what is the subject – a Mop or a Broom?' :'He, he, he,' says Miss Flounce: 'I suppose we shall see :An Ode on a Dishclout – what else can it be?'Innes, Joanna (14 April 2011). "Ode on a Dishclout". London Review of Books 33(8): 24. Hands's published poems include: *Perplexity: A Poem *On the Author's Lying-In, August, 1785 *On An Unsociable Family *The Widower's Courtship Publications * The Death of Ammon: A poem Coventry, UK: privately published, printed by N. Rollason, 1789 **''The Death of Amnon: A poem'' (published with The Rural Lyre by Ann Yearsley; edited by Caroline Frankln). London: Routledge / Thoemmes, 1996. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Elizabeth Hands, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 5, 2016. See also * List of British poets References External links ;Poems *Elizabeth Hands 1746-1815 at the Poetry Foundation, *Elizabeth Hands (1746-1815) info & 10 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 ;About *"Foremother Poet: Elizabeth Hands (fl 1789)" at Ellen and Jim Have a Blog, Two Category:1746 births Category:English-language poets Category:English poets Category:1815 deaths Category:18th-century poets Category:18th-century women writers Category:English women writers Category:Poets Category:Women poets Category:Working-class poets